


dream on, chaotic

by Anonymous



Category: Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual Male Character, Crossover Pairings, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-19 22:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10649097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Life is about finding greener pastures.Noct/Nero. AU.





	dream on, chaotic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JazzRaft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazzRaft/gifts).



The killcount matters. Not because Nero's out to prove himself, but because absorbing demonic energy has an inverse effect on the simmering pain he gets from the Devil Bringer. Post-Saviour, with demons choosing to steer clear of Fortuna; his kill count stagnates and the Devil Bringer _boils_. He finds himself snapping at everything and everyone but because it's _him_ , no one at the Order takes his outbursts too seriously. It's only when he starts going off at Kyrie, that Credo decides a change of scenery will be healthier for all parties involved.  

Nero doesn't object, but Kyrie does. They 'argue'--that is Kyrie talks; Nero listens and then does what he wants--about it and have angry sex and then she breaks up with him afterward because this was apparently 'the last straw'. The Devil Bringer subsides just a little, and someone makes a comment about it having to do with Nero finally getting some action last night.  Nero tracks down that 'someone' and strings them upside-down in the firing range by their underwear. 

And then he goes.

. . .

His killcount doesn't so much as drop as plummets into freefall.

A week into escorting the Tenebrae Oracle to Altissia, he wants to prop Blue Rose under his chin and pull the trigger. Trains going downhill should be picking _up_ speed, not slowing _down_ , and the Oracle's aura repels all demonic forces so no messy fighting. Just a peaceful, picturesque ride down the Tenebrae Alps that clashes brilliantly with the stabbing pain in his right arm. Best train ride ever.

Somehow, he ends up on the phone with Dante. He was actually aiming to call Credo to shit on him, call him a prick for leaving him here, but the Oracle gets to him first, inviting him to the bar for a drink.  She tells him she's  'fascinated' by his arm (these 'holy' types are all the same) and thinks there could be another way for him to satiate the Devil Bringer without thoughtlessly throwing himself at the first demon that shows itself.  

"It's not that I don't think you're capable, you just don't seem like the sadistic type."

She says this while squeezing his arm, and Nero's not sure if it's the alcohol dulling his senses, but somehow it's as if a pleasant warm breeze has spread through his body; Devil Bringer included.  He finds himself inundated with thoughts of Kyrie, suddenly, and overwhelmed, he blurts if she's an angel.  She just laughs but doesn't answer and disappears into the bathroom. 

It's really not ten-shot!Nero's fault that the letters C and D are so close together in his phone Contacts. (Credo is listed as 'Chode'.)

Dante's chuckle seems to reverberate, as if he's standing in a large, empty room. Nero pictures a ballroom. By and large most of the demons that come after Dante are aristocratic types who knew his father before the fall of Mundus, who would benefit from the infamy of killing Sparda's son to move up in the food chain and most of their 'human' alternate egos are one members of the rich one per-cent. They tend to gravitate toward the whole 'murder-castle-nosferatu' aesthetic.

"You know what Trish and Lady call complaining about off days? _Privilege_." says Dante. "I haven't had an off day since leaving Fortuna and it's not for lack of trying. So take these as they come and be _grateful_ kid." Nero hears a crunch on Dante's end, like he's just stepped on a shard of glass.  (Or bone, sometimes it's hard to tell.)

"SSSSON OF SSSPARDAAA--" a disembodied voice hisses.

"Man, does that ever get old?" Nero wonders. 

"Old is relative for people like us." says Dante. There's a click when he hangs up. Luckily for Nero, it's just in time for the vodka to finally knock him out. Even having a lower ratio of demon to human in him it still takes a concerted effort to get shitfaced.  (Lately though, he's been wondering if that ratio has increased in favor of the demon in him.   _Oh well, future Nero's problem_.)

Lunafreya finds him fast asleep on the cold floor of his traincar when she returns: limbs splayed out; no fucks given. Apparently finding it endearing, she covers him with a blanket, thanks him for the company and leaves a bottle of water and asprin next to him for morning.  

. . .

Sometime before Nero wakes up the train makes a mandatory stop halfway to pick up the Lucis Prime Minister and some other delegates to officially welcome the Oracle into Lucis territory. Nero has no complaints there; the Prime Minister's company will keep Lady Lunafreya off his back. It's the pain in the neck in the black hoodie sitting across from him, eyeing the Devil Bringer with unabashed curiosity that Nero has plenty to say about.  

When he introduces himself his voice is unexpectedly deep for someone who looks around his age, and being caught off guard by that fact irks Nero more than it should; largely in part to the Devil Bringer.  

"Nero, right? Credo's told me things."

All bad, Nero is sure given that it's Credo, but he's too preoccupied  to care, what with his arm having gone haywire since he woke, pulsing erratically.  Fortuna's already in shambles; it won't do to piss off the only country offering aid by decapitating one of their employees.  So he does the sensible thing: clamps his jaw shut and breathes quietly through his nostrils.  

Hoodie doesn't take the hint.  

"Are all Fortuna folk as sociable as you or should I be disappointed?"

"It usually depends on planetary alignment.  Jupiter up Uranus, that sort of thing."  Nero gestures lazily with his headphones.

Noct pulls back his hand, smile dissolving.  

. . .

Running the Devil Bringer under cold water seems to help a bit, so Nero stays in there for the better part of an hour, pushing for two until some asshat starts banging on the door.  He'd chosen the last bathroom in the last car solely because it puts him as far from that Noct guy as possible.

Nero opens, but only halfway, grunting a "fuck you want…" to Noct before continuing with running his arm under water. He keeps one foot planted along the doors edge, but Noct forces it open anyway. Glares at him in the mirror.

"Luna and the Prime Minister's missing. The train's been overrun with--" 

"MOVE." orders Nero, shouldering past before Noct has a chance too.

. . .

The plus side of being cooped up in this tin hellhole is that Nero has tremendous reserves of energy for the hordes of demons descending on the train. The down side, Nero is dismayed to discover, following an explosion that derails said train, is that he has tremendous reserves of energy.   He catches a grunt trying to limp away from the burning wreckage, and interrogations take all of two minutes before self-preservation wins out over loyalty.   

A rorshach masterpiece of blood and entrails in the snow is left in the aftermath. The pain in his arm dims by the tiniest amount, but goes back to normal.  Noct watches the whole thing with a frown that looks like it's been present since the fighting began but if he has any reservations about the way Nero conducts business he doesn't voice them; simply turns on his heel and starts heading up the mountain in the direction the grunt pointed.  

. . .

Noct's patience lasts three days.  The evening of the third, they take shelter in a cave during a blizzard and that presents an opportunity for confrontation.  Nero's in the middle of squeezing a green orb over a nasty gash on his shin from when they narrowly fended off a cutlass ambush (when Nero says 'they' it really just means he shoved Noct out of the way and killed them all) when, out of nowhere:

"The way you're carrying on I can't decide if you're addicted or suicidal."

The suicidal part Nero understands; Dante and Trish got on his case about it once, when they invited him out to 'spring clean' on Mallet Island.  ('Pays to look before you leap, kid.' 'Why are they in such a hurry these days.') 

"I'm not addicted." says Nero. It's not like hunters grow on trees; just that if he doesn't do it no one else will. And that's just the thing: no one _else_ will. This is fundamental to demon-hunting.

"Every time you kill one of them, your eyes glaze over like you're high or something. And when there's none left you get angry.  If those aren't symptoms--"

"Um. They're _demons_." Nero deadpans. The orb has just about finished closing up the wound and he tosses the empty shell away, thinking, _I wouldn't have to explain this to a five year old._

"You're _part_ demon." 

"Yeah? And?"

"If you succumb to that darkness you could lose--"

Nero snorts, then busts out laughing. Twenty per cent of that laughter is genuine, because it's something he used to be insecure about. The rest is just him being sardonic, because he's gotten over that insecurity.  It helps, when he's got Trish and Dante as a frame of reference. Those two have been at this thing for years and are more human than the people he grew up around.  

"Not gonna happen." he tells Noct.

"Happened to Vergil." Noct mutters and that brings the laughter to a screeching halt.

He glares through the flames of the campfire crackling between them, Devil Bringer talons digging into stony skin. Nero knows the story: a misty-eyed Dante told him once over drinks at DMC when he'd gotten drunk enough.  How Vergil embraced his demonic heritage more readily than Dante ever did (or would); actually served Mundus and may or may not have tried to usurp him once, if the demons that told Dante can be trusted.  

But if this... _nobody_ thinks he can draw comparisons between Nero and a guy who exists vaguely in Nero's past and has nothing in common with save for the blood running through his veins then Nero can't be at fault for what happens next.

The Devil Bringer shoots out, faster than Noct can even think to warp to safety, flinging him against the wall with a dust-shaking _THUD_ that continues to echo while he goes on all fours, coughing and groaning.   Then, because he's got a 'deathwish', Nero turns his back on him and closes his eyes.  

. . .

One night, the campfire goes out-- not for very long, but definitely long enough for Nero to feel the cold settle in.  He turns over in time to see Noct lazily flick a flame hovering above his palm onto the campfire. It's only when the light returns that he notices the smouldering remains of goblins lying about.  And then realization hits.  Whenever they make camp Noct always makes sure to sit against the wall, such that his shoulders are pressed tight against the rock. Sometimes he rubs against it, other times he scratches. 

Like he's uncomfortable in his own skin.

"You're half." says Nero. Noct seems to bristle.

" _Quarter_."

"Mom or dad?"  

"…dad." 

Fucking hypocrite. "And you gave _me_ shit about it." 

At this Noct scowls, cheeks heating up in equal parts guilt and embarassment. "I'm not like _you_ , if that's what you're implying."  

Nero goes quiet. _The Other Race_.  He's never met one before--never thought he'd meet one; frankly, he thought they were extinct. Dante said they were. Trish said they were always too concerned with bureaucracy and prophetic signs to be of any use anyway. 

"You're right." says Nero at last with a grin. "I'm better."

Oh, if looks could cut glass.

. . . 

Laughing's good; it takes his mind off the pain.  Laughing while fighting -- even better. Mostly he laughs at Noct; not because he's fallen over or anything (though that'd be a funny bonus) but because Nero kills the demons faster than he can even get to them. Theoretically, Noct should be able to, with that weird teleporting magic he's got, but such is the difference experience makes.   Nero's been in this business long enough that he knows how each and every demon thinks and moves. So he's one step ahead-- a fact that seems to piss off his new hunting partner.

"Ever heard of teamwork?"  Noct snaps, while they're making camp one evening. "You nearly got my head.  Hey!" 

Nero is busy cleaning Red Queen, so he doesn't notice until Noct stands right in front of him, glaring.  He tugs his headphones down. "What jumped up your ass?"

Noct looks just about ready to explode.

"Nothing? Fine." Nero tugs the earphones back on, expression deliberately blank. Noct yells a couple of things at him, but Nero's lip-reading skills are such that he can only make out one word: 

_Ass-hole._  

Noct stomps off, right hand raking through his hair in frustration, then down his shoulder blade.  

. . . 

He does that a lot, the shoulder rubbing thing, so it's hard to ignore.   Day eight of their miserable trek up the mountain Nero decides to hang back for once, let the guy have his time in the sun--the Devil Bringer burns, but Noct needs the outlet more than him. (That's his theory, anyway.)

Noct doesn't physically carry any weapons on his person, just pulls barely visible swords and lances (one time a shield) out of thin air. Convenient way to hunt, Nero thinks: every cut or stab purifying demon flesh with holy fire, turning it to straight to ash, but he's certain the way Noct grimaces in the aftermath while trying not to move his shoulders is the trade-off. There is noticable improvement in his mood though, and he's a pretty decent campfire cook when he's like that so Nero _guesses_  he can go a few more days taking a backseat.

. . .

There's something… _off_ about the way Noct's powers work. In between battles, while they continue to climb, it's as if the discomfort has progressed into pain; having gradually gotten worse with every victory.  It doesn't take long for Nero to come up with a theory on why that is. 

It does take a while for him to get round to asking, though.  It's not that Noct's unapproachable, just that the closer they get to the summit, the harder it is for Nero to melt into the background to observe.  The demons up here are stronger, the air thinner, making it easier to tire out so Nero finds himself stepping in.  Not to take over, but to cover Noct's back because there seems to be a significant cool down time after teleporting.  

"Rookie mistake, leaving yourself open like that," Nero tells him, when things quiet down. "What's the matter; not used to fighting on your own?"

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

Nero snorts. "Actually, you're terrible." 

Noct rolls his eyes.  

"So where are your friends, anyway?"  Noct seems warm enough that he has heaps of those lying around, and his style of fighting hints that he's used to someone watching his six.  

"My _brothers_  are holding the fort back home.  We've seen an increase in demonic activity on the outer walls of Lucis, so it's all hands on deck even with the Glaive. When Ravus found out I was coming he called me on my cell and said 'don't bother'." 

"Hate to break it to you, but he's right." says Nero.  

"So you're team Ravus."

"Nah he's a dick." Noct seems to brighten at that remark. "But--he's a dick that pays well.  And I can understand, as someone familiar with overprotective siblings and _your_ style of fighting, why he wouldn't trust her with you."

"You just _love_ winding me up don't you..." 

"Are you guys close?  Everyone else calls her 'My Lady'; you call her Luna."

Noct smiles into the campfire at a memory. "I knew her when we were kids. Before the Oracle stuff anyway.  I hope she's alright." He goes quiet, tracing the ring around his right middle finger.  "No, she's definitely alright; I can feel it."

Nero thought with one question answered that would be the end of it. He's too proud to ask though, because there's a smirk on Noct's face, like the guy can tell exactly what he's thinking.  It's just Nero's luck that he's in a talking mood.

"Luna's my fiancée...I think."

"You _think_?" Nero repeats with a scoff. 

"Do you believe in soul mates?" 

Soul mates. Right.

"I'm going to crash." Nero decides. Noct chuckles and kicks him. 

"Tomorrow I get to ask the questions."

. . . 

Nero tells him about the Order, about Fortuna, Dante and Trish.  When it comes to Kyrie though, he finds himself stumbling for words.  Thing is, he's never been able to explain the bond he has with her; how the pain literally lessened when he was around her. When they were still together, anyway. 

"What if you go back…"  

Has this guy been listening?  He can't go back. Well, he _could_ , because fuck what Credo and the others think. "Protecting the Oracle was my one way ticket out.  Fortuna's too quiet for… _this_." When he says 'this' Noct's eyes flicker to the Devil Bringer, frowning a little in empathy. "Say whatever it is you wanna say, I don't care."

"Do you think…" Noct hesitates, like he's at war with himself, "…do you think Kyrie's your soul mate?" 

Nero considers it. He'd literally went hell and back for her, two years ago and he can see himself doing it five times over, no questions asked. _There's just one problem._ "If she was, leaving wouldn't have been an option."  

As soon as he says that, it's as if a piece of a puzzle he's been trying to figure out has finally slid in place. It doesn't make him feel any better. Actually, it irritates him, more than the Devil Bringer ever did, because leaving made _sense_.  

Noct leans forward and squeezes his shoulder, the one with the Devil Bringer.  Nero freezes, not expecting the contact. 

Noct offers an encouraging smile.  "You could try Lucis.  Drautos would work you within an inch of your life."  

Then he pulls up his hood, turns on his side and is asleep.  Nero meanwhile, continues to stare, still in a state of shock.  He's not sure if he's imagined it, but for a brief moment while Noct was touching him, he'd felt that same feeling of warmth he'd gotten from the Oracle.  

. . .  

"Is it an angel thing?" Nero blurts, three days later in the middle of an impromptu strategy meeting Noct had called just as they reached the castle gates.  

Noct looks up from whatever squiggly diagram he's been drawing in the dirt. (Nero doesn't know why they can't just charge in guns blazing.  It's not like the demons they've encountered are anywhere near the intelligence that Agnus had.) 

"What?"

"When I first met the Oracle she touched my arm and the pain faded.  The same thing happened when you did, a couple nights ago."

Noct's brows furrow a little, trying to remember.  Nero's impatience gets the better of him because he can't believe he's let himself be bothered by this for so long, so his tone comes out a lot more aggressive than he means to. It also doesn't help that the Devil Bringer hurts a bitch and a half right now.

"What are you, absent-minded? I said a couple of nights ago, not ten y-"

He stops when Noct slowly, carefully touches his forearm.  

"Hows that?" 

"Nothing." says Nero, staring at his arm, and what a relief it is, to not feel the visceral sensation of skin being peeled away from his flesh day in day out.   He can't even remember what he was annoyed about in the first place.  God, he could kiss Noct right now.

Abruptly Noct lets go, bursting into a coughing fit. The pain returns, but it's the other guy Nero's more concerned with. He's got his back turned, so it's hard to get a read.

"What's-" He inches just out of reach, when Nero goes to touch him.  He waves Nero off.

"Yeah, no. I'm fine, something caught in my throat." 

Nero swears the guy was blushing.

. . .

The 'Prime Minister' ("More like Prime Sinister," says Nero) turns out to be an ancient enemy of the Lucian King and has been performing a ritual that steadily drains the Oracle of her power.  Thankfully, such rituals depend on solar eclipses so Nero arrives with time to spare.  Earlier on he and Noct rock-paper-scissored on who would get to confront the Prime Minister and who would rescue Lunafreya.   What a great fiance.

Having broken her chains, he produces a flask of water from his coat pocket and passes it to her.

"You came all this way alone?"

"I'm here with your friend Noct."

Luna appears surprised, but not for the reasons he expects. "He introduced himself as Noct?" 

Lying little shit.  Next chance he gets he's going to whack him upside the back of the head with Red Queen. Luna touches his wrist, and Nero is mildly annoyed at the calming effect it has on him. 

"'Noct' is a nickname only those closest to him get to use." She tilts her head a little, studying him now. Turns the Devil Bringer over in her hand, reading the lines of the roughened skin there. "I suppose…he must have sensed it as well."

"Sensed…"

"That you're special."

Nero shrugs her off, rolling his eyes.  "Of course I'm special." 

'Like everyone else on the planet,' Dante would say.  

They fight their way through the rest of the castle, Luna wielding a trident with a frightening ease and finesse that casts doubt on how she ever managed to get captured in the first place. Her dress is splattered with blood, but she either doesn't care or hasn't noticed.

"Prayer is powerful, but a little work never hurt anyone," says Luna brightly, hurling the trident and impaling three goblins against a nearby wall. Nero quietly slides his headphones back in. 

It's probably an angel thing and he's probably better off not knowing.  

. . .

Eventually they cross paths with Noct -- or rather, Noct's battle with the twenty-foot winged monster aka Prime Sinister explodes through one of the castle walls, spilling into the courtyard.  The monster gets in some good hits, but the the killing blow is eventually dealt and Nero's almost sorry, with the pulsating pain in his arm, that he'd ever decided to work with Noct in the first place.  

_Almost_.  

They set up their last camp for the night, Luna using her magic to turn the entire castlegrounds into a Haven.  Nero's not sure of the specifics, just that it means no one will need to stand watch overnight and that's good enough for him.  She then borrows Noct's cell and the next twenty minutes is spent listening to her trying to convince a frantic Ravus that she's alive and not a malevolent demon impersonating her.   

"Not staying in the castle?" says Noct, watching Nero stretch out beside the campfire.  "The rooms are pretty nice."

Nero shrugs. "I don't sleep where I work." 

"I can respect that." Noct sits down, idly tugging up bits of grass. "I'm sorry you didn't get to kill Ardyn."

" _Who_?"

"The Prime Sinister." Noct's mouth quirks a little at the nickname.

Nero sighs but shrugs again. "There'll be others." 

There's always others.  It's morbid how such a thought gives him comfort. He's not sure what he'd do in a world without them. Would he go mad? Should he get Dante to finish him off if it ever came down to it? 

Noct clears his throat. "Um.  My offer still stands.  Luna doesn't think you'd like Tenebrae very much. Just letting you know you have options, is all." He adds quickly when Nero frowns at him.

"Is it really your call to make, inviting someone _like me_ over?  I don't care much for politics, but even I know when to stay in my lane."

"I'm sure dad will make an exception for you."

" _Dad_?"

"He runs things.  So…keen?" Noct adds tentatively. He's flushing a little, but Nero's frankly too tired to tease. 

"Raising hell in your part of town could be fun." Nero replies, yawning. Noct lights up instantly.

"The guys are pretty solid fellas I've known them all my life..." and when he launches into storymode after that, it's impossible to stop him. Nero closes his eyes trying to envision the men Noct describes and dozes off a few minutes later.

. . . 

Luna laughs softly, offering a disgruntled Noctis his phone back to him as they start up towards the castle. 

"My brother sends his regards."

Of course he did.  "Luna, about your vision…"

"Everything happened?"

"Exactly like you said, but…" Noctis frowns over his shoulder at the snoring hunter and grimaces. "… _him_? _Seriously_?"

Luna just nudges him. "Admittedly he's a little… _rough,_ around the edges…"

Noctis snorts.  Understatement, if he ever heard one.  

"All diamonds are, in the beginning." Luna insists. Noctis sincerely hopes this'll be a good enough excuse to tell dad.

Nero snores on, not giving a shit.


End file.
